Tuesday, 9 July 2013

Vickers Vikings on the West Coast Route

By Mitch Stirling

Cumulonimbus with anvil.

The Inter Tropical Convergence Zone
(ITCZ) is an awesome display of weather. It extends around the circumference of
the earth at the equator and follows the sun as it migrates seasonally to the
north and south. The birthplace of some of the strongest storms on earth, it
generates extremely hazardous flying conditions for all things in the air.

Experienced pilots can spot the
early warning signs of its approach — a change of wind direction on the surface,
or the tell-tale signs aloft of "mare's tails" riding on high-altitude winds. Up
and down draughts of thousands of feet per minute are not uncommon in these
towering giants, along with cascading waterfalls of ice and rain and blinding
pulses of electricity. From the cockpit of an aeroplane at night Charlie Bravos
(Cumulonimbus) can be seen far off, below the distant horizon, sparking and
flashing like a gigantic arc welder. As they draw nearer they seem to climb up
and up and up, until 50 000 feet and more is reached. Then the fun begins.
"FASTEN SEAT BELTS."

Of course, many thousands of
domestic and international flights penetrate lines of storms of varying
intensity during the course of the rainy season. With their on-board Radio and
Detection and Ranging equipment (Radar), modern airliners are well-equipped
nowadays to detect and avoid storm cells. In fact, it is now a legal requirement
for all aircraft above a certain weight, operating in the commercial category,
to carry said equipment.

Not so back in the 1950s, before
the advent of airborne weather radar, when Central African Airways was plying
between Salisbury and London in their old Vickers Vikings. Long distance
meteorological forecasts were very unreliable in those far-off days and METAR
and TAF information was completely unknown. Pilots knew they would encounter the
ITCZ at some stage on their journey, but they had to rely on years of experience
to help them navigate around bad weather and arrive safely at destination.
Unhappily, this art of visually spotting areas in a cloud that may be dangerous,
or where hail might occur, has been lost to most of today's high-flying pilots.
They have become dependent on modern technology.

Those old boys were experts, but
even they could be caught out on occasions, as Radio Operator Ralph Ward
describes in an incident when a sneaky, embedded Cb lodged itself on track.
"What a noise there was, with rain and hail hammering and banging on the cockpit
roof, the undercarriage warning horn yodeling at us (on account of the throttles
being retarded and the wheels in the Up position) and the Vertical Speed
Indicator pointing up to heaven at 2 000 fpm. After staggering and crashing
around in the sky for what seemed like hours, the skipper finally looked out his
side window and announced, with an odd sense of humour ... I've got a wing! "

Fortunately the old Vikings were
solid machines with two powerful 1 690 bhp Bristol Hercules engines. The
passengers travelled in fairly spartan conditions, but they were constantly
under the watchful eye and expert care of an air hostess who would attend to
their every need, even during en route night stops. Many of them will be
remembered affectionately for their skills in caring for travellers of all ages.
It was a family affair, where a flight departure might even be delayed because
some little girl left her pink handbag in the terminal building (ask my wife!)
The front office, which leaked like a seive in the rain, was spacious enough for
the two pilots, a flight engineer and a radio operator. There was a Very hatch
in the roof in case of any untoward incidents and a length of rope was always
carried, to wrap around a prop and pull-start the engine in the event of starter
failure. At 210mph (182 kts) they cruised along unpressurized for seven hours at
a stretch, at an altitude where all could breathe comfortably.

Above:Viking interior. There was
quite a high step over the spar box in the centre section of the cabin where
stiletto heels used to inflict some damage, so ladies were asked to remove heels
when boarding.

Above: Viking cockpit with
Captain Bob Hill and Cliff Venter at the controls.

photo 4: "It was a family affair",
with mail and cargo adding significantly to the load.

Above: Cockpit news from Captain
Duncan Strange.

Flight Paths

The first scheduled flights to
London by CAA in 1953 followed the Great Lakes/Nile Valley route through East
Africa. But during the Suez crisis of 1956 a new route had to be blazed, up the
west coast. The river Congo and the volcanic mount Cameroon at 13 255' (4 040
metres), the Upper Niger, the semi-arid Sahel and the vast emptiness of the
Sahara desert were all unfamiliar territory to the crews of CAA. And it soon
became clear that a working knowledge of the French language would be very
helpful in the French territories of West Africa.

Above: Salisbury in 1956.

Above: Captain Alan Morris.

Above: R/O Ralph Ward.

Above: C.A.A. Ticket

Above: Miss Harris (3 years)

Above: Les Booth's map.

Quotes from Ralph Ward and Alan
Morris will help to describe the journey. "The
first day would take us to familiar Lusaka and Ndola and then to unknown
Luluabourg, somewhere in the middle of the Belgian Congo. Thence to its capital
Leopoldville (Kinshasa) where crew and passengers spent the first night in the
Sabena Rest House, after nine hours in the air."

Next day's flight included four and
a half hours to Doula which was "quite a place, and landing there could be a
trifle hair-raising. The runway appeared to be cut from the jungle which
consisted of giant trees interspersed with narrow little creeks. And just up the
road was Mount Cameroon, sticking up like a sore thumb. As a result the area was
generally considered unhealthy."

Above: Douala (Cameroon.)

"Then to Kano in Northern Nigeria
(British territory) for a second night stop in one-bed cubicles at the old RAF
barrack block at Kano airport. This was a very interesting place and had quite a
history, dating back umpteen centuries and had been the headquarters of the Arab
slave traders. The Shell representative there, a South African, was the
instigator of many a hectic night stop. Then there was that flock of vultures
that used to perch on the kitchen roof at the rest camp. It always made me feel
uncomfortable the way they looked us over."

After a 4 am early morning call at
Kano, the travellers embarked with the promise of a long, hot day ahead. There
were a number of hops en route to get them across the Sahara to Algiers on the
Mediterranean coast, so they departed for Niamey in north western Niger, on the
river, under the weight of every British gallon of fuel they could squeeze into
the tanks. Then to Tessalit for another refuelling stop, if required. Tessalit
in Mali was a strategically important French outpost in the mountains and part
of the French Sudan until 1959. It is said that whoever controls Tessalit
controls the Sahara, even today. With a war of liberation raging across the
border in Algeria, the supply of fuel and oil was a major problem in the Western
Sahara region. Everything had to be transported by road from Algiers, 2 000
miles away. But the French were highly organized and could refuel the old bird
and have them airborne again in 20 minutes.

Above: Tessaret (Tessalit) sand
runway and refuelling drums.

It was another two hours to Aoulef,
Algeria, in the middle of the Sahara. "There was a huge oasis there — a great,
dark green splash in the middle of endless yellow sand. The runway consisted of
a flat bit of desert with white markers indicating the landing area and a medium
frequency radio beacon was the only radio aid."

Above "refuelling was done by
a jolly Frenchman."

Avove: : endless shifting sands of
Algeria.

"It
was always a relief to arrive at Maison Blanche airport in Algiers after
staggering along for 12 hours through the bumps and clear air turbulence (CAT)
over the desert. We used to creep up to 12 000 feet ... and the passengers who
were not asleep by then were airsick. As we approached the capital in darkness
for he final sector of the day we could see gun flashes in the mountains to the
south — probably the National Liberation Front (FNL) attacking a French outpost.
A let down to 800 feet was carried out, with the aid of Radio Range (a long
out-dated American system of which we had theoretical knowledge only.) Then
touchdown on a long, wet black-top runway, uncomfortably close to a mountain
range, with a marvellous ground lighting system and a maze of coloured lights
reflecting on the wet taxiways. After a day of 15 hours 30 minutes duty time, 12
hours 6 minutes actual flying time, passengers and crew were ready for a good
helping of hebergement ... accommodation, shelter, hospitality.
The Hotel San George was surrounded by a magnificent botanical garden. It had
been a sultan's palace and used by Army HQ during WW11."

Above: Algiers

On the final day they crossed the
Med in comparative comfort and entered a whole new world of climatic conditions
and congested airways. Anxious moments were spent watching ice accreting on the
leading edges of the wings through frosted cockpit windows, with the de-icing
fluid rapidly dwindling away! Limited VHF frequencies and old type microphones
were all they had, so oxygen masks were donned to reduce background clutter.
When the cockpit heating was inop the crew resembled an RAF bomber on a
mission (not surprisingly as it was, after all, a development of the Wellington
bomber!) They would re-join the airway at Marseilles and after a call to London
Airways would be greeted, with some relief, by a courteous reply from Air
Traffic Control.

From the early days of the first
Viking Coach Class Zambezi Service to London in 1953, big juicy King pineapples
from Uganda were always conveyed to Heathrow Approach, as a thank you gesture
from Central Africa — small reward for an efficient talk down and a warm
welcome. Three nights and four days en route and a journey through three
distinct climatic zones — ranging from thunderstorms in the tropics, to the
searing heat of the equator, to ice and rain in Europe — was a journey of epic
proportions by today's standards.

But fresh in the memories of all CAA Viking crews
would have been the loss of friends and colleagues in the crash of Viking
Shangani in Tanganyika on 29 March 1953. Captain Perry St Quinton, First
Officer Wally Mollett, Flight Engineer Tommy Ivison, two hostesses and 8 pax
were killed in a catastrophic in-flight structural failure of the starboard
wing. All Vikings above a certain number of hours were immediately grounded; one
in the UK, one in Blantyre, two at Ndola, and the rest in Salisbury. Vickers
produced new spars from an alloy, less prone to fatigue, and these had to be
replaced in situ in very primitive working conditions ... particularly at
Ndola in the open air. The replacement of 22 feet of the lower main spars were
carried out by CAA engineers who completed the task in a shorter time than
Marshall's of Cambridge ... and with superior workmanship. (Interesting to note
that with ultra-sound and X ray tests available today, this tragedy may have
been avoided.)

Joe Jennesen and Bob Garrett later
joined the RRAF, with Bob rising to the rank of Wing Commander (Engineering).
Bob's son Walter was killed in a Vampire collision in 1956. Roy became a captain
with CAA/Air Rhodesia and his son, named after Walter, is a captain with British
Airways.

Thanks to Nicky (Elphinstone)
Pearce for the wonderful old snap shots taken by her mother Jean, and to Chris
Bourlay for priceless oldie photies from his father's albums. And thanks to Roy
and Walter Downes, Alan Harris, Derek Hill, Tony Ward and Geoff Reid for all
their photo contributions and background information. David Stirling's photo of
the Sahara desert was taken recently from a Solenta Aviation Beech 1900 while on
contract in Algeria. Last, but not least, thanks to Les Booth for the excellent
map which showed all of us where we were going.

EndThanks to Mitch Stirling for sharing this story and photographs with ORAFs. Thanks Mitch

The recent mention by Mitch Stirling of CAA crews buying "big juicy
King pineapples from Uganda" in his recent - as always, excellent -
story "Vickers Vikings on the West Coast Route” has prompted me to
send you this image.

A CAA crew (I believe it's Captain Rod - or is it Ron ? - (The Iron
Man) Mackie plus one other (unidentified) deplanes from Viscount VP-YNA
RMA Malvern somewhere down the route with their pineapples already
safely and securely on terra firma! Location is unknown - maybe
Lusaka - but going by other photo‘s in the sequence it may also
possibly be an airport in the Belgian Congo
(Stanleyville/Elizabethville). Other shots have Sabena passenger
steps at the rear though these might be of later stops on the same
flight. Date also unknown but ‘RMA Malvern’ shows the fully painted
nose panel that goes all the way to the tip, which is a CAA colour
scheme that only appeared on this particular aircraft circa the
latter half of 1956.

8 Comments:

This picture must have been taken on the ground because the fellow in the front right of the picture is not holding onto his beer bottle, which was necessary in the million or so atmospheric bumps between Salisbury and London.However not all the bad weather was confined to the tropics.

Ting Orbell, later Chief Pilot, had a flight across the Mediterranean from Cairo to Rome, and they got sucked into a Cb from just above sealevel and got "spat out" at 18000 feet.The fuel caps were torn off the wings, the outer wings were bent upwards (a Vickers problem) and the aft toilet bucket finished up in the cockpit.(Jeez Chris did the crew wear "hard hats."So as I say,it was very necessary to hold onto your beer!

That picture of the interior of the plane on the ‘west coast route’, as I told Mitch, when I first bought his book, is of Neville chatting up the air hostess, on one of his numerous business trips.!!

Actually, I think she looks like Pauline Reed, who was at that time married to Chris Van der Westerhuizen, who was also a pilot in CAA at that time. Pauline was also from a pioneering family, Worthington Reed from the Gwelo area, and a great school friend. The two men on the left look familiar, maybe from one of the Tobacco Sales Floors.

My brothers and I believe that our late dad, Andrew Newby Wawn, is the man with the hat on, second from the left. We have never seen this photo before now, so it comes as a pleasant surprise! He served with 44 Squadron during WW2, as a flight sgt., and then worked for CAA, Air Rhodesia, Air Zimbabwe and Affretair. Regards, Keith Wawn.

I was talking to my old schoolmate, Tony Wawn, ex Cranborne Boys High the one article on Rhodesian Heritage about the Vickers Viking VP-YJA the photo was 1B c/h 168. It was the crew did a repair, main spar I think the second person going from left to right in the photo could well be Andy Wawn,Tony dad he has that black arm guard on this right arm. Tall man with glass on Tony is 90% sure it’s his dad OK young Eddy almost forgot Rory Hilton is well on the way to full recovery, spoke to him a few weeks ago, he will contact us when he comes down to Durban. OK Eddy look after yourself and may your God go with you regards Nev Mare.

I have only been on a Viking once, and that was when we sent 8 pilots and 8 technicians to collect 8 Provosts. We left in December 1955, and arrived in London 4 days later having night stopped in Niarobi, Wadi Halfa, and Malta. The Air Force had chartered this Viking, and as such it was not available to the public. However, there was a special request for one old lady to be put on, and this was granted. The Captain of the aircraft, his name escapes me for the moment, was advised that this old dear was absolutely terrified of flying, could he somehow put her at ease. She was put in the very front seat facing the crew door. We took off, and as I watched this old dear I thought that she was going to be a good candidate for a heart attack. She gripped the armrests so violently that I thought the veins in her hands must rupture. We were just passing over the Zambezi, when the crew door opened, and out came the Captain , walking backwards, holding 2 peices of string. He stopped abeam of the front row of seats, looked around, and then very kindly asked this old dear if she would do him a favour as he had to go to the gents. Would she fly the plane and he would be back in a few minutes, and before she could gather herself to speak, the Captain gave her the 2 pieces of string. He was as good as his word and he was back, in fact in a flash, thanked the old dear most sincerely, saying she had been a great help, took the pieces of string from her, and with great concentration opened the crew door and disappeared into the cabin.The relief on this lady's face as she realised that it was a piece of cake to fly an aeroplane. After that she was completely relaxed. This, however, could have had a very negative effect, but in this case it worked.

It took us 10 days to ferry these aircraft home, the only unserviceability was to the sheperding Dak which had gene problem, I think it was in Tunis, which caused us to stay there for a day. We arrived back in Salisbury on Christmas day.

Dave Vermaak (Air Rhodesia) Writes:-Correction to the notification on the Vickers Vikings on the West Coast RouteFar be it from me to create any dissention in the ranks or cause doubts about my old colleagues recollection abilities but my identity of folks in the picture is;a. the photo was posed for Stuart Dark in the a/c whilst on terra firma.b. the gent being served is Vernon Ginns.c. the gent in front of him is Mike Steadmand. the gent in the window seat behind the ladies reading Post is Bill Denyer.

If I go through my old material I'll no doubt be able to identify the chap Bill is talking to as well as the two ladies!Subject open for debate!!

(Dave - thank you. The more comments the better, it only serves to give a realistic view of what happened. Critism is also welcome as lon=g as it foews not get personal) Eddy Norris

A very good article by Mitch Sterling once again.I remember Ralph Ward well. He was doing his PPL the at the same time as I was in 1976, at Charles Prince Airport (Mt Hampden Airport). Not sure if it has been mentioned, but Ralph is the father of Clive Ward, pilot RhodAf. etc.

I was on the same ferry flight as described by Alan Bradnick when we went to collect another 8 Provs. The pilot was Frank Flote incidentally

The main spar of a Viking – it was based on the Wellington wing – went through the cabin just aft of the cockpit access door. This left two sets of 4 club seats forward of the spar and thus the flight attendant had to step over the spar to serve pax in these seats.

It was the days of the early nylon shirts and it was possible to generate a massive static electrical charge by wriggling around in one’s seat.

As the long suffering hostess was leaning over the spar while handing a tray into the club seat area she presented her well rounded tail to a tech – I think Jock Howie - who was seated aft of the spar and who had amused himself by building up a really good charge

His index finger got to within about three inches of her tail when the massive voltage let go with a loud crack – she let out a shriek, jumped into the air and dropped the entire tray of drinks.